Respect: Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians
Reprise Records, 1993

Robyn Hitchcock's 13th post-Soft Boys album is one of his "typical" surrealistic meditations on sex and death. It starts off with the deceptively cheerful "The Yip Song" — about his father dying of cancer —through the lyrically strange (whoa — nothing unusual there) "When I Was Dead" and the oddly spiritual "Serpent at the Gates of Wisdom."

There are odd pop-culture and not-so pop culture references — from the "Harrison Ford poster rolled up in my desk" in "Radio Storm" to "The Wreck of the Arthur Lee" — Arthur Lee being the ill-fated brains behind the great 1960s band Love, and playing off the song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." And then there is the non-sequitor "Wafflehead" — a largely a capella piece of nonsense insinuating sexuality.

Most moving, however, is the song "Arms of Love." A simple song with simple chords —D-G-A— it is a beautful evocation of the pain of being in and out of love from the point of view of an observer, hoping for the best.

Maybe your world is fading
It wasn't strong enough
Through all the dirt you're wading
Into the arms of love
The same year (1993), R.E.M. recorded a nice cover of this song; hard to find now without using a download.

And that is what makes this album somewhat different from Hitchcock's others — overall, the lyrics are fairly straightforward and accessible compared to past efforts (Queen Elvis or Globe of Frogs, brilliant in their own right). Musically, it is what is to be expected of Hitchcock — psychedelic Brit-pop.

Track listing

  1. The Yip! Song
  2. Arms of Love
  3. The Moon Inside
  4. Railway Shoes
  5. When I Was Dead
  6. The Wreck of the Arthur Lee
  7. Driving Aloud (Radio Storm)
  8. Serpent at the Gates of Wisdom
  9. Then You're Dust
  10. Wafflehead

Respect - The Unity Coalition.

Respect are a new political party in the U.K. who will be standing candidates for the first time in the 2004 European and London Mayor elections.

Formed by ex-labour MP and leading Stop the War activist George Galloway, who left his old party over its backing of the war in Iraq. It is hoping to cash in on the current anti-Blair feeling in the country with its strong anti-war message believing it is the best target for protest votes. Although the Liberal Democrats and the Greens are also standing on an anti-war platform, Galloway maintains the former's support for the troops during the conflict, and the latter's apparent support for a UN occupation of Iraq leave Respect as the true anti-war party, also, as he puts it:

"A vote for the Lib Dems or the Greens can have many meanings - from endorsement of the former's plan to deregulate the pornography industry to the latter's policy on free-range eggs. Supporting Respect, however, can have only one unambiguous meaning: no more war, no more occupation."

Apart from its anti-war stance the party is a socialist party with all the policies you might expect from one. Broadly it stands for equality, workers rights and trade unionism, protection of the environment, taking back into public ownership the utilities sold off by Thatcher and so on. In these areas it may proove sucessfull in picking up votes from those cut-out by Labour's move towards the right under Blair, and in London voters put off by outgoing mayor Ken Livingston's return to the Labour Party, although it may have to share with the Greens in these areas.

The only policy on which Respect seem a little confused is over Europe. In common with many U.K. parties they seem to want to appeal to both Europhilles and Europhobes together. The best way to summarise their European stance is that they are for membership of the EU but against closer links between countries, particularly against membership of the Euro. They seem to want to remould the EU along more socialist lines.


Sources:
Respect Web Site: http://www.respectcoalition.org and,
Some leaflet they chucked through my letterbox yesterday.

Re*spect" (r?*sp?kt"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Respected; p. pr. & vb. n. Respecting.] [L. respectare, v. intens. from respicere, respectum, to look back, respect; pref. re- re- + specere, spicere, to look, to view: cf. F. respecter. See Spy, and cf. Respite.]

1.

To take notice of; to regard with special attention; to regard as worthy of special consideration; hence, to care for; to heed.

Thou respectest not spilling Edward's blood. Shak.

In orchards and gardens, we do not so much respect beauty as variety of ground for fruits, trees, and herbs. Bacon.

2.

To consider worthy of esteem; to regard with honor.

"I do respect thee as my soul."

Shak.

3.

To look toward; to front upon or toward.

[Obs.]

Palladius adviseth the front of his house should so respect the uth. Sir T. Browne.

4.

To regard; to consider; to deem.

[Obs.]

To whom my father gave this name of Gaspar, And as his own respected him to death. B. Jonson.

5.

To have regard to; to have reference to; to relateto; as, the treaty particularly respects our commerce.

As respects, as regards; with regard to; as to. Macaulay. -- To respect the personpersons, to favor a person, or persons on corrupt grounds; to show partiality. "Ye shall not respect persons in judgment." Deut. i. 17.

Syn. -- To regard; esteem; honor; revere; venerate.

 

© Webster 1913.


Re*spect", n. [L. respectus: cf. F. respect. See Respect, v., and cf. Respite.]

1.

The act of noticing with attention; the giving particular consideration to; hence, care; caution.

But he it well did ward with wise respect. Spenser.

2.

Esteem; regard; consideration; honor.

Seen without awe, and served without respect. Prior.

The same men treat the Lord's Day with as little respect. R. Nelson.

3. pl.

An expression of respect of deference; regards; as, to send one's respects to another.

4.

Reputation; repute.

[Obs.]

Many of the best respect in Rome. Shak.

5.

Relation; reference; regard.

They believed but one Supreme Deity, which, with respect to the various benefits men received from him, had several titles. Tillotson.

4.

Particular; point regarded; point of view; as, in this respect; in any respect; in all respects.

Everything which is imperfect, as the world must be acknowledged in many respects. Tillotson.

In one respect I'll be thy assistant. Shak.

7.

Consideration; motive; interest.

[Obs.] "Whatever secret respects were likely to move them."

Hooker.

To the publik good Private respects must yield. Milton.

In respect, in comparison. [Obs.] Shak. -- In respect of. (a) In comparison with. [Obs.] Shak. (b) As to; in regard to. [Archaic] "Monsters in respect of their bodies." Bp. Wilkins. "In respect of these matters." Jowett. (Thucyd. ) -- In, ∨ With, respect to, in relation to; with regard to; as respects. Tillotson. -- To have respect of persons, to regard persons with partiality or undue bias, especially on account of friendship, power, wealth, etc. "It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment." Prov. xxiv. 23.

Syn. -- Deference; attention; regard; consideration; estimation. See Deference.

 

© Webster 1913.

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